JPH0919445A - Oral hygiene device and oral hygiene device including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide an oral hygiene tool capable of enhancing the attachment strength of an oral hygiene tool to an oral hygiene device main body with a simple configuration, and an oral hygiene device including the same. [Structure] A plurality of slits 22 extending along the axial direction,
Replacement brush as an oral hygiene device detachably attached to the oral hygiene device main body 4 having at one end a tubular holding portion 20 divided into a plurality of arcuate claw portions 24 and 25 via 23. 5, the shaft portion 33 elastically held by the holding portion 20 is provided on the proximal end side, and the shaft portion 33 is mounted on the outer peripheral portion of the slit portion 22 in the circumferential direction with no or almost no gap in the circumferential direction. The protruding portion 34 is provided in a protruding shape in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft portion 22 and the direction of the main load F when the replacement brush 5 is used.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an oral hygiene tool such as a toothbrush, an interdental brush, a gingival massaging tool, and a nipple teat massaging tool which is removably attached to an oral hygiene device main body and an oral cavity equipped with the same. Regarding sanitary equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an electric toothbrush, a vibration method in which a replacement brush is vibrated by centrifugal force during rotation of an eccentric weight, and a reciprocating method in which a rotary motion of an electric motor is converted into a reciprocating motion of a replacement brush through a crank mechanism or the like. The two methods are widely known, but the vibration type electric toothbrush has its function by installing an intraoral hygiene device such as an interdental brush, a gingival massager or a nipple papilla massager in place of the replacement brush. Since it can be easily switched and can be manufactured at low cost, it is rapidly becoming popular recently.

As a mounting structure of a replacement brush for an electric toothbrush, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-4918, as shown in FIG. 10, a fitting recess 101 is formed at the base end portion of the replacement brush 100 to form an electric toothbrush. The shaft 103 is formed in a protruding shape at one end of the casing of the main body 102, and the fitting recess 1
There is widely adopted a replacement brush mounting structure by a fitting recess in which the shaft portion 103 is elastically fitted to 01 to fix the replacement brush 100 to the electric toothbrush main body 102. However, in this mounting structure, it is necessary to mold the fitting recess 101 with a side core or the like, which complicates the mold structure for molding the replacement brush, and increases the manufacturing cost of the replacement brush 100. Further, from the design requirement, it is necessary to set the base end portion of the replacement brush 100 so as not to be too thick, and since the shaft portion 103 is configured to have a relatively small diameter, the casing and the shaft portion 103 are made of a synthetic resin material. When integrally molded by the above method, it becomes difficult to secure sufficient strength of the shaft portion 103, and the shaft portion 103
The contact area between the fitting recess 101 and the fitting recess 101 cannot be set to a large value, and elastic fitting causes variation in elastic force. When fitting is particularly weak, vibration cannot be sufficiently transmitted to the replacement brush 100. There is also a problem.

Therefore, the applicant of the present invention filed Japanese Utility Model Application No. 5-2802.
In No. 9, electric interdental cleaning brush 110 shown in FIG.
As described above, a bottomed cylindrical holding member 112 is liquid-tightly fitted and attached to one end of the casing 111, and the front end side portion of the holding member 112 is extended by four slits 11 extending in the axial direction.
3 is divided into four arc-shaped claw portions 114, and the shaft portion 116 formed at the base end portion of the interdental cleaning brush 115 is fitted and mounted in the holding member 112.
The shaft portion 116 is elastically held by 14 and an interdental cleaning brush 115
A mounting structure for fixing the casing to the casing 111 has been proposed.

[0005]

In the mounting structure shown in FIG. 11, the mold structure for manufacturing the interdental cleaning brush 115 can be simplified, the manufacturing cost of the interdental cleaning brush 115 can be reduced, and the holding member. Vibration can be efficiently transmitted by increasing the contact area between 112 and the shaft portion 116. But,
Also in this mounting structure, when the replacement brush is attached to the holding member instead of the interdental cleaning brush, the tip end of the replacement brush is spread outward in the radial direction against the claw portion on the back side of the replacement brush during brushing. Since a large bending moment acts on the root of the claw portion on the rear side under such a load, there is still some concern about the mounting strength. On the other hand, in order to increase the mounting strength, it is conceivable to construct the claw part with a thick wall, but since the claw part is configured with a thick wall, the elasticity of the claw part can be improved because the shaft part is held by the elastic force of the claw part. Is lowered, and it becomes impossible to absorb the manufacturing error of the shaft portion due to the elastic deformation of the claw portion. That is, a new problem arises in that the shaft cannot be mounted in the fitting recess, or the mounted shaft easily comes off the fitting recess.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an oral hygiene tool which can enhance the attachment strength of the oral hygiene tool to the main body of the oral hygiene apparatus with a simple structure, and an oral hygiene apparatus including the same.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an intraoral hygiene article which comprises a tubular holding portion divided into a plurality of arcuate claw portions via a plurality of slits extending in the axial direction. An oral hygiene device body that is detachably attached to an oral hygiene device main body having one end, wherein a shaft portion elastically held by the holding portion is provided on a proximal end side, and a slit is provided on an outer peripheral portion of the shaft portion. On the other hand, the locking projections, which are mounted with no or almost no gap in the circumferential direction, project in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft and the direction of the main load when using the oral hygiene implement. It is provided. Here, as described in claim 2, a pair of locking projections may be formed at opposite positions on the outer circumference of the shaft portion with the center of the shaft portion sandwiched therebetween.

An oral hygiene apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is an oral hygiene apparatus having at one end a tubular holding portion divided into a plurality of arcuate claw portions through a plurality of slits extending in the axial direction. The apparatus main body, and an oral hygiene tool provided with a shaft portion that is detachably elastically held in the holding portion on the proximal end side, and a claw portion that receives the back surface side of the oral hygiene tool than other claw portions. It is formed over a wide range.

An oral hygiene apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is an oral hygiene apparatus having a tubular holding portion, which is divided into a plurality of arcuate claw portions at one end through a plurality of slits extending in the axial direction. The apparatus main body, and an oral hygiene tool provided with a shaft portion that is detachably elastically held in the holding portion on the proximal end side, and a claw portion that receives the back surface side of the oral hygiene tool than other claw portions. It is made thick.

In the oral hygiene device according to claim 3 or 4, the oral hygiene device according to claim 1 or 2 is used as the oral hygiene device according to claim 5,
As described, on the outer circumference of the shaft portion of the oral hygiene implement, mounted in a slit other than the slit for mounting the locking protrusion, to form a positioning protrusion for circumferentially positioning the oral hygiene implement, Are the preferred embodiments.

[0011]

In the oral hygiene tool according to the first aspect of the present invention, the locking projections project in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft portion and the direction of the main load when the oral hygiene tool is used. The claw portion that receives the oral hygiene tool from the back side at the time of brushing, the load that biases the claw portion outward in the substantially radial direction via the shaft and the locking protrusion A load for urging the claw portion along the substantially tangential direction acts via the.
That is, the strength and rigidity of the claw portion with respect to the tangential load are
Since the strength and rigidity with respect to the radial load are remarkably larger, the load during brushing can be efficiently received by the back claw portion of the oral hygiene implement.

According to the oral hygiene article of claim 2,
The load at the time of brushing is received in a well-balanced manner by the pawl portion on the back side of the shaft portion via the pair of locking projections. In the oral hygiene device according to claim 3,
Since the claw portion that receives the back side of the oral hygiene device is formed over a wider range than other claw portions, elastic deformation in the radial direction of the back side claw portion is reduced, but its strength, The rigidity is high. Further, since the elasticity of the front claw portion does not decrease, the oral hygiene tool is elastically held by the front claw portion and is prevented from falling off.

In the oral hygiene apparatus according to the fourth aspect, since the claw portion for receiving the back surface side of the oral hygiene tool is configured to be thicker than the other claw portions, the back surface side claw portion in the radial direction. Although the elastic deformation to the surface is reduced, its strength and rigidity are increased. Also, because the elasticity of the front claws does not decrease,
The oral hygiene tool is elastically held by the front claw portion and is prevented from falling off.

In the oral hygiene device according to claim 5, since the oral hygiene device according to claim 1 or 2 is used as the oral hygiene device, by providing the locking projection, it is possible to perform the brushing at the time of brushing. The load effectively acts on the claws on the back side of the shaft, and the strength and rigidity of the claws are increased by widening the range of formation of the claws or by making the claws thicker.

In the oral hygiene apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the positioning projection is attached to a slit other than the slit for mounting the locking projection, so that the oral hygiene apparatus is located at an appropriate position in the circumferential direction of the main body of the oral hygiene apparatus. It is possible to always position the internal hygiene equipment.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an oral hygiene device 1 is detachably attached to an oral hygiene device body 4 in which a vibration generating means 3 is incorporated in a substantially cylindrical casing 2 and an oral hygiene device body 4. And a replacement brush 5 as an oral hygiene tool. Instead of the replacement brush 5, an oral hygiene tool such as a gum papilla massaging tool 40, an interdental cleaning tool 42, a gingival massaging tool 45, and a floss unit 48 is attached to the oral hygiene apparatus body 4 as described below. It is also possible.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vibration generating means 3 includes a battery 10 loaded in the lower half of the casing 2, an electric motor 11 fixed in the vicinity of the upper end of the casing 2, and an electric motor 11.
An eccentric weight 12 fixed to the rotating shaft 11a of the electric motor 11 extending upward and a switch (not shown) provided in the middle of the wiring of the power feeding system to the electric motor 11 are provided. When the switch is turned on, the eccentric weight 12 is rotated by the electric motor 11, and the centrifugal force of the eccentric weight 12 causes the casing 2 to vibrate around its upper end.

The casing 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 3, a cylindrical holding portion 20 is integrally formed on the upper end portion of the casing 2, and a portion near the upper end of the casing 2 is closed by an upper wall portion 21. The holding portion 20 is formed with a total of three slits 22 and 23, which are a pair of left and right slits 22 and one slit 23 on the front side, along the axial direction, and these three slits 22 and 23 form the holding portion 20.
Is divided into a pair of left and right claws 24 on the front side and a substantially semi-cylindrical claw 25 on the back side.

The left and right slits 22 are formed only up to an intermediate portion in the axial direction of the holding portion 20, and the front claw portion 2 is formed.
4 is configured to increase the strength and rigidity of the claw portion 25 on the back side at the sacrifice of the elasticity in the radial direction to some extent. Further, the front slit 23 is formed up to near the rear end surface of the holding portion 20, and is attached to the rear end portion of the holding portion 20 while ensuring the radial elasticity of the front claw portion 24. It is configured to facilitate cleaning of toothpaste and the like. Engagement protrusions 26 are formed on the inner peripheral surfaces near the tips of the claws 24 and 25, and the engagement protrusions 26 engage with annular grooves 32 of the replacement brush 5 described later, whereby the replacement brush 5 Is restricted from moving in the axial direction.

The replacement brush 5 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a bristling table 30 is formed at the tip of the replacement brush 5, and a plurality of bristles 31 extending forward are planted on the bristling table 30 in the vicinity of the proximal end of the replacement brush 5. An annular groove 32 into which the engaging protrusion 26 is fitted is formed in the portion, and the shaft portion 3 fitted and mounted in the holding portion 20 is provided on the proximal end side of the replacement brush 5.
3 are formed.

The outer peripheral portion of the shaft portion 33 is provided so as to project in a direction orthogonal to the axial center direction of the shaft portion 33 and the direction of the main load F when the replacement brush 5 is used, and the left and right slits 22 are provided. On the other hand, a locking projection 34 that is mounted with no or almost no gap in the circumferential direction is formed in a protruding shape, and a positioning projection 35 that is mounted in the front slit 23 is formed in a protruding shape. ing. The locking projection 34 and the positioning projection 35 are formed in the middle of the shaft portion 33, the locking projection 34 engages with the rear ends of the left and right slits 22, and the positioning projection 35 has the front slit 23. Is arranged so as to engage with the middle part of the.

Next, the operation and effect of the oral hygiene apparatus 1 will be described. The positioning protrusion 35 has the slit 2 on the front side.
3, the shaft portion 33 of the replacement brush 5 is fitted into the holding portion 20 of the oral hygiene device main body 4 and the positioning protrusion 35 and the locking protrusion 34 are attached to the front slit 23 and the positioning protrusion 35. The replacement brushes 5 are attached to the oral hygiene device main body 4 by mounting the replacement protrusions 26 in the left and right slits 22 and fitting the engagement protrusions 26 in the annular grooves 32. In this state, replacement brush 5
Is the elastic force of the claws 24 and 25, the engaging projection 26, and the annular groove 3.
The engaging projection 3 is immovable in the axial direction due to the engagement with 2.
4 is engaged with the claws 24 and 25 so as to be non-rotatably attached to the oral hygiene device main body 4. Further, a semi-cylindrical claw portion 25 having high strength and rigidity is arranged on the back side of the replacement brush 5.

Then, the switch is turned on to rotate the electric motor 11, and brushing is performed while the replacement brush 5 is vibrated by the centrifugal force of the eccentric weight 12. At this time, the claw portion 25 on the back side is brushed. In the vicinity of the upper end,
As shown in FIG. 5, the rear surface of the shaft portion 33 presses the claw portion 25 rearward in a substantially radial direction of load F1, and the locking protrusion 34 causes the claw portion 2 to move.
The load F2 in the substantially tangential direction that presses 5 backward acts. By the way, the back side claw portion 25 has strength and rigidity with respect to the load F2 in the tangential direction, and the load F in the radial direction.
Since the strength and the rigidity with respect to 1 are significantly larger, the load F at the time of brushing is efficiently received by the claw portion 25 via the locking protrusion 34.

Since it is not necessary to form a fitting recess or the like in the shaft portion 33 of the replacement brush 5, the mold structure for manufacturing the replacement brush 5 as a consumable item is simplified and the replacement brush 5 is manufactured. The cost can be reduced significantly.
Furthermore, by bringing substantially the entire circumference of the shaft portion 33 into surface contact with the holding portion 20,
The replacement brush 5 can be attached to the oral hygiene device body 4, the contact area between the two can be increased, and vibration and reciprocating motion can be efficiently transmitted to the replacement brush 5.

Next, a modified example in which the configuration of the oral hygiene apparatus 1 is partially changed will be described. The same members as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. (1) As shown in FIG. 6, the above-mentioned replacement brush 5 can be attached to the oral hygiene device body 4A having the conventional holding portion 20A having the four claw portions 24A. In this case, since the strength and rigidity of the rear side claw portion 24A are reduced, the mounting strength of the replacement brush 5 is slightly reduced, but the locking projection 34 abuts in the tangential direction of the rear side claw portion 24A. Since it can be expected that the strength will be increased, the mounting strength will be higher than the conventional one. The holding unit 2
Since 0A does not have front-back, left-right directionality, the positioning protrusion 35
May be omitted, or one pair may be provided before and after the shaft portion 33.

(2) Oral hygiene device body 4 shown in FIG.
Like the casing 2B of B, the back side claw portion 25B may be configured to be thick, and its strength and rigidity may be increased so that the claw portion 25B can reliably receive the load during brushing. . (3) Like the replacement brush 5C shown in FIG.
C may be provided with an elongated locking projection 34C that fits over the entire length of the left and right slits 22. In this case, the strength and rigidity of the locking projection 34C can be increased, and the main load during brushing can be more efficiently received by the claw portion 25.

(4) If it is an oral hygiene tool in which the direction of the main load during use is substantially fixed, the annular groove 32 and the locking projection 34 will be applied to the oral hygiene tools other than the replacement brush 5.
By forming the positioning protrusion 35 and the positioning protrusion 35 on the shaft 33, the same effect as that of the replacement brush 5 can be obtained. For example, in FIG.
Like the gingival papilla massaging tool 40 shown in (a), an intraoral hygiene tool having a soft rubber member 41 with a sharp tip attached to the tip, and an interdental cleaning tool 42 shown in FIG. 9 (b). To
As in the oral hygiene tool in which the steel wire 44 in which the synthetic resin filament 43 is implanted is fixed to the tip portion, or the gingiva massaging tool 45 shown in FIG. 9C, a bag-shaped rubber member 46 is attached to the tip portion. As in the oral hygiene tool in which a plurality of protrusions 47 are formed on the front surface of the rubber member 46 or the floss unit 48 shown in FIG. The present invention can be applied to an oral hygiene tool having a dental floss 50 stretched between the distal ends of the portions 49.

[0028]

According to the oral hygiene article of claim 1,
With a simple configuration in which the locking projection is provided in a protruding shape in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft and the direction of the main load when using the oral hygiene tool, part of the load during brushing Since the nail can be effectively acted on in a substantially tangential direction and can be effectively received, the attachment strength of the oral hygiene tool to the holding portion can be greatly improved. In other words, the strength and rigidity of the claw portion against the load in the tangential direction are significantly larger than the strength and rigidity against the load in the radial direction, so by applying the load during brushing in the tangential direction, the attachment strength of the oral hygiene implement is improved. Is greatly improved.

Further, since it is not necessary to form a fitting recess or the like on the shaft portion of the oral hygiene tool, the mold structure for manufacturing the oral hygiene tool as a consumable item is simplified and the oral hygiene tool is manufactured. It is possible to significantly reduce the manufacturing cost of. Furthermore, it is possible to attach the oral hygiene device to the main body of the oral hygiene device by bringing the substantially entire circumference of the shaft portion into surface contact with the holding portion, and increasing the contact area between the two to efficiently vibrate and reciprocate. Can be transmitted to the oral hygiene device.

According to the oral hygiene article of the second aspect of the present invention, the load during brushing is received in a well-balanced manner by the claws on the back side of the shaft through the pair of locking projections. It is possible to further increase the mounting strength of the sanitary equipment. According to the oral hygiene apparatus according to claim 3, the rear surface of the oral hygiene tool on which the largest load acts during brushing is a simple configuration in which the formation range of the claw portion that receives the back side of the oral hygiene tool is widened. The strength of the claw portion that receives the side can be increased, and the mounting strength of the oral hygiene tool to the holding portion can be greatly improved.

According to the oral hygiene apparatus of claim 4,
With a simple structure in which the back side of the oral hygiene tool that receives the back side is thickened, the strength of the back side of the oral hygiene tool that receives the largest load during brushing is increased and The mounting strength of the oral hygiene tool can be greatly improved.

According to the oral hygiene apparatus of claim 5,
Since the oral hygiene tool according to claim 1 or 2 is used as the oral hygiene tool, by providing the locking protrusion, the load during brushing is effectively applied to the claw portion on the back side of the shaft portion. By making them act and widening the forming range of the claw portion or making it thick, the strength and rigidity thereof can be increased, and the mounting strength of the oral hygiene tool to the holding portion can be further improved.

According to the oral hygiene apparatus of claim 6,
It is possible to effectively prevent the oral hygiene device from being attached to the main body of the oral hygiene device in the front-rear direction, and always place a wide-forming claw or thick-walled claw on the back side of the oral hygiene device. Is possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an oral hygiene device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view near the base end of the replacement brush.

5 is a view taken along the line VV of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a view of another oral hygiene device body corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a holding portion of another oral hygiene device body.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of main parts showing a state in which another oral hygiene device is attached to the main body of the oral hygiene device.

FIG. 9 shows a side view of another oral hygiene device,
(A) is a side view of a teat massaging tool, (b) is a side view of an interdental cleaning tool, (c) is a side view of a gingival massaging tool,
(D) Side view of the floss unit

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a mounting structure of a replacement brush for a conventional electric toothbrush.

FIG. 11 shows a conventional electric interdental cleaning brush,
(A) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a main part near the holding member, (b) is a perspective view of the holding member

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Oral hygiene apparatus 2 Casing 3 Vibration generator 4 Oral hygiene apparatus main body 5 Replacement brush 10 Battery 11 Electric motor 11a Rotating shaft 12 Eccentric weight 20 Holding part 21 Upper wall part 22 Slit 23 Slit 24 Claw part 25 Claw part 26 Engagement Collision part 30 Hair transplantation base 31 Hair bundle 32 Annular groove 33 Shaft part 34 Locking projection part 35 Projection part 24A Claw part 20A Holding part 4A Oral hygiene device body 2B Casing 4B Oral hygiene device body 25B Claw part 5C Replacement brush 33C Shaft 34C Locking protrusion 40 Nipple massage tool 41 Rubber member 42 Interdental cleaning tool 43 Synthetic resin filament 44 Steel wire 45 Gingival massage tool 46 Rubber member 47 Projection 48 Floss unit 49 Arm part 50 Dental floss

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An oral hygiene device main body having at one end a tubular holding portion divided into a plurality of arcuate claw portions via a plurality of slits extending in the axial direction, and is detachably attached to the oral hygiene device body. An oral hygiene tool, wherein a shaft portion elastically held by the holding portion is provided at a base end side, and is attached to an outer peripheral portion of the shaft portion in a circumferential direction with respect to a slit without or substantially without a gap. An oral hygiene tool in which a stop projection is provided so as to project in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft portion and the direction of the main load when the oral hygiene tool is used. 2. The intraoral hygiene tool according to claim 1, wherein a pair of locking projections are formed at opposite positions on the outer circumference of the shaft with the center of the shaft interposed therebetween. 3. An oral hygiene device main body having at one end a tubular holding portion divided into a plurality of arcuate claw portions through a plurality of slits extending in the axial direction, and detachable from the holding portion. An oral hygiene tool provided with a shaft portion elastically retained at the base end side, and the oral cavity formed with a claw portion that receives the back side of the oral hygiene tool over a wider range than other claw portions. Internal hygiene equipment. 4. An oral hygiene device main body having at one end a tubular holding portion divided into a plurality of arcuate claw portions via a plurality of slits extending along the axial direction, and detachable from the holding portion. An oral hygiene device having a shaft portion elastically retained in the proximal end side, and a claw portion that receives the back side of the oral hygiene device is thicker than other claw portions. . 5. The oral hygiene device according to claim 3, wherein the oral hygiene device according to claim 1 or 2 is used as the oral hygiene device. 6. A positioning projection formed on the outer periphery of the shaft of the oral hygiene tool, which is mounted on a slit other than the slit for mounting the locking projection to position the oral hygiene tool in the circumferential direction. The oral hygiene device according to 5.